Aha moments at decision-maker evenings

04/26/2016

Many companies know that they have to modernize their processes in order to remain competitive. At the same time, they shy away from change and question whether the cost might not ultimately outweigh the benefit. Tebis experts shed some light on the subject at the decision-maker evenings on April 7 in Hannover and on April 14 in Romrod: Under the motto "Finding solutions and exploiting potential", they used specific examples from practice to show how efficiency can be significantly increased in mold and die manufacturing in a very short time.

During the event, participants and Tebis specialists examined four topics in detail.

Analyzing weaknesses and exploiting potential

In his presentation "Analyzing weaknesses and exploiting potential", Tebis consultant Markus Rausch explained that the first priority is to identify the main weaknesses in the manufacturing process. For example, if the flow of information in the company leaves anything to be desired or if standards are lacking in tool management or in the setup process, this has a very negative effect on the overall manufacturing process, resulting in long downtimes. Example from practice at Meco GmbH: With the process consulting from Tebis Consulting and the solutions developed jointly by Tebis and Meco, this die manufacturer from Württemberg was able to increase its machine runtimes by 20 to 30 percent.

Eliminating machine downtime with external setup

"Setup" is so critical that Rausch dedicated a separate presentation to this topic, titled "Eliminating machine downtime with external setup". The Tebis consultant emphasized the enormous advantages of external setup processes. In addition to long machine run times, these also include multi-machine operation, clearly defined setup situations and a clear flow of information between employees.

Automated small parts manufacturing

In his presentation "Automated small parts manufacturing", Tebis AG Product Manager Stephan Galozy showed how the small number of die manufacturers currently automating their small parts processes can be attributed to a lack of standards in design, separate surface data, purely virtual stock allowances and elaborate setup processes. In contrast, precisely this automated small parts process is already in full swing with Tebis process solutions: A medium-sized automotive supplier manufacturing up to 3,510 small parts from solid material and with initially estimated production costs of €835 per part was able to reduce these costs to €658, an amazing 21%.

Dies without reworking

The same aspects affecting small parts also apply for the actual dies – automation processes are in need of improvement. Design, NC programming and tryout are frequently regarded as separate steps. However, Galozy emphasized the fact that these areas are very closely related in a second presentation, "Dies without reworking – Active surface preparation and tryout elimination". If transition-free offsets are directly incorporated in the active surface instead of wall thickness attributes, the result is NC programs with which extremely high quality surfaces can be directly manufactured. Manual reworking steps such as dressing milling surfaces, grinding spot facing marks, correcting design deficiencies or incorporating corrections are significantly reduced. Actual numbers from a pilot project: Active surface preparation was shortened by up to 50 percent, machining with HFC tools was 15 percent faster on average and tryout time was reduced by up to 25 percent for draw dies.

Conclusions from the decision-maker evenings and the following exchange of ideas: The cost of process optimization is much lower than many participants would have thought, since all of the potential is already available and has only to be released and correctly applied.